Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa
By Richard Tega Enyeh
The Federal Government has pegged the minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions in the country at 16 years.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, made this known at the 2025 policy meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Abuja on Tuesday, July 8.
“This policy decision reflects a balance between cognitive maturity and academic preparedness. 16 years is non-negotiable,” Alausa said.
The minister noted that provisions existed for clearly documented and justified exceptions like gifted children with accelerated educational progress.
He warned institutions against attempting to circumvent the rule by altering age records, stressing that such acts would attract sanctions.
Alausa also unveiled new measures to curb the scourge of examination malpractices, which he described as a “cancer” undermining merit and eroding confidence in Nigeria’s education system.
Alausa announced the establishment of a Central Examination Malpractice Unit within the Federal Ministry of Education, noting that this would be chaired by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Abel Enitan.
The minister added that this unit would serve as a national clearing house for documenting and reporting malpractices cases across all levels of education.
“This central database will be accessible to all institutions. It is our hope that this will reduce the tendency to engage in malpractices, as offenders will be appropriately tried under the Exam Malpractices Act,” he said.
Alausa also confirmed the government’s support for WAEC and NECO to adopt computer-based testing to curb malpractices.
